It didnât take long for Doug White to decide the stateâs lawsuit against his business, a gas station, convenience store and casino on Highway 35 outside Bigfork, was a political hit job.
The owner of Your Lucky Mercantile was sued in October for noncompliance with Montanaâs mask mandate, along with four other Flathead County businesses. Between his outspoken Republican politics, a 36-foot yacht that âprobably has the largest Trump flag that you could have on itâ and what he said was careful adherence to federal COVID guidelines, he didnât think the lawsuits, announced by then-Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, were really about public health.
Montana House, Senate act on more than 100 bills Monday
The Montana House and Senate are in the middle of the busy final days before the 67th Legislative Session reaches its halfway point.
By: Jonathon Ambarian
and last updated 2021-03-02 10:56:26-05
HELENA â The Montana House and Senate are in the middle of the busy final days before the 67
th Legislative Session reaches its halfway point, which means lawmakers are deciding whether more than 100 bills remain alive.
Wednesday is the transmittal deadline when any bill that doesnât appropriate money or impact state revenues has to pass through its first chamber or it will die.
Senate votes down bill to make PSC appointed body helenair.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from helenair.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The deeds of a long-dead Italian explorer have been celebrated in the U.S. for over 80 years.Â
But in Montana, Senate Bill 146 aims to remove Columbus Day from the docket of state holidays and replace it with Indigenous Peoplesâ Day.Â
Seven other states â Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont and Oregon â have already replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoplesâ Day, while Alabama and Oklahoma celebrate both holidays. Â
Montana Sen. Shane Morigeau wrote and sponsored the bill. This is not the first time he has brought this issue up in the legislature. Morigeau brought forth a similar bill in 2019, but it was killed in the Senateâs State Administration Committee. As of Monday, Feb. 15, SB 146 was in that very same committee.Â
Kim Dudik Provided photo
Our state and the way of life we have enjoyed for decades is in danger of being lost. With a new governor and new Legislature in session, itâs vital Montana citizens are aware of the harmful actions occurring right now in Helena: politicizing our courts, substantially remaking state government, diminishing Montanans rights, and consolidating power in the Governorâs Office.
Even though no problem exists with the current process, the governor and some Republican legislators are seeking to eliminate the judicial nomination process for vacancies that has existed since Montanaâs Constitution was enacted in the 1970s. They want to revert to an outdated system, abolish the judicial nomination committee, and allow the governor to handpick whomever he wants to fill judicial vacancies with no independent check on qualifications. Senate Bill 140, by Sen. Keith Regier, assigns all power to the governor for vacancies and politicizes our cour